CHAPTER VIII. 



THE LIFE OF CUVIER. 



The union of zoology and comparative anatomy, and the examina- 

 tion and study of fossil remains. 



George Leopold Chretien Frederic Dagobcrt 

 Cuvier was born at Montbeliard, in the Depart- 

 ment du Doubs, a town which was subse- 

 quently united to France, although at the time 

 of Cuvier's birth it belonged to the kingdom of 

 Wurtemberg. He was born on August 23rd, 

 1769. His family originally came from a village 

 in the Jura mountains, which still bears the name 

 of Cuvier ; but, becoming the victims of religious 

 persecution, they were obliged to leave and to go 

 to reside at Montbeliard at the time of the Reform- 

 ation. Cuvier's grandfather had two sons, one cele- 

 brated for his learning, and the other belonging to 

 a Swiss regiment in the French service. The soldier, 

 after forty years' service, retired on a small 

 pension to Montbeliard, where he was appointed 



